ALAN LORIMER says a Perthshire final could be on the cards.
Glenalmond College 62
The High School of Glasgow 10
GLENALMOND COLLEGE joined their Perthshire neighbours Strathallan in the semi-finals of the Scottish Schools’ Under-18 Cup after achieving a convincing home win over Glasgow High School in the last of this year’s quarter-final matches.
In all, Glenalmond ran in ten tries, with blindside flanker Jock Stodart claiming a hat-trick, but coach Graham Smith suggested that his team’s performance was not as dominant as the score-line suggests.
“We were perhaps fitter, faster and stronger than our opponents,” he said. “High School of Glasgow, however, played well.”
From the other perspective, visiting coach, Dave Barrett, reflected: “We didn’t turn up. Having said that, there was not 52-points difference between the teams. Our territorial and possession stats were good. At 12-5 we were very much in the game but they got a softish try and that was it.
“Their results have been good this season. We have a younger side. We don’t have that many sixth years boys in the team. That’s not so good for now but hopefully it will be good for next season,“ added the former Scotland B stand-off Barrett.
Glasgow High were perhaps victims of their own success last season. As winners of their regional conference, they were given a bye into the last sixteen. Moreover, as conference winners, they were seeded which meant playing one of the eight non-seeded teams in the previous round, claiming a 20-7 win over Morrison’s Academy.
“It would have suited us better if we had not been seeded and we had dropped to the Shield,” suggested Barrett.
Glenalmond now face Fettes College in the semi-final. The two schools met in the Eclipse Conference last Saturday when Fettes won narrowly by 27-24, suggesting that next week’s clash could go down to the wire.
Fettes reached the last four after inflicting a shock 27-19 defeat on last season’s beaten finalists, Dollar Academy.
Scorers –
Glenalmond College: Tries: Jock Stodart 3, Rafe Houston 2, Miles Kinge, Thomas Godfrey-Faussett, Will Arnott, Ben Morrison, Finn McCarthy; Cons: Morrison 3, Houston 3.
Glasgow High School: Tries: Adam Pollock, Robbie Simmers
The semi-finals are –
George Watson’s College v Strathallan
Glenalmond v Fettes College.
Image courtesy: Emily Davies